The LG SL80 - This television makes a good first impression before it has even been turned on. It has a very reserved (but still dapper) look and sports a depth of just 1.8 inches front to back. It also has a glass front panel that spans the entire front of the unit. This tv was engineered to also be a beautiful piece of furniture no matter what type of decor you have in your tv room. It is compact and sleek all the way, with a minimalist design that stands out without even trying to. LG makes two different models as part of the SL80 Series, a 42 inch and a 47 inch television. Both of them have the same specifications and equivalent picture qualities.
The SL80 Series also looks good when it’s turned on, which is a good thing. The color levels are some of the most accurate you’ll find out of all the LCD televisions on the market. Unfortunately the black levels leave something to be desired. They are a but lighter than other similar LCD’s in the same price range, but it may end up being a trade off: better color or better black levels? It’s all up to personal preference, but overall this television looks great both on and off.
For videophiles there is an extensive array of picture controls available in the menu system. It offers as many or more different ways to tweak your set’s picture than LG’s competitors do, and high end television aficionados will appreciate the attention to detail and availability of the features. It also had anti-blur and dejudder features as well, like one might expect. Unfortunately LG was one of the companies that released their LCD’s with those features bound to each other. This isn’t a huge deal most of the time, but it is nice to have the option to use either anti-blur or dejudder features independent of one another, but it’s simply not an option with the SL80 Series unfortunately.
LG has spent some R&D money on their remote design for the high end sets in their line of LCD’s. The remotes are significantly improved over previous models. For one thing the keys are grouped logically and have a fair amount of space between them, making it easier to hit only the button you were trying to. They also have dedicated keys for a lot of the core features you might expect and want, which is also good. It’s not perfect, it definitely lacks that intuitive feel and ergonomic polish, but it’s an excellent remote nonetheless. It even has a remote backlight for the buttons so you can see the buttons in the dark, which isn’t an earth shattering feature but it is something many of LG’s competitors still don’t offer on their stock remotes that ship with their high end LCD sets.
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With a PC input and four HDMI connectors the LG SL80 Series offers a good amount of connectivity. One additional downside however, is the screen on the unit is a bit too reflective. This can be a problem with ambient light in the room or streaming in a nearby window. Light can create glare off the screen, making it distracting and difficult to view. Obviously this can easily be resolved by turning lights off or closing shades, but it is a minor annoyance perhaps worth mentioning.
The SL80 Series is an excellent television all around, with good picture quality, excellent energy efficiency, and really unbeatable overall cosmetics. If you like a stylish looking television then this one is definitely worth a look-see.